About Us
“I Love to See Men Well Dressed”
Ruby Vestey loved the elegance of timeless men’s garments so decided to take the plunge and founded Marmaduke London
Article by Rupert Watkins
A graduate of London College of Fashion, Ruby Vestey was always drawn to the more timeless nature of men’s style and clothing, “it’ just more sustainable, I found the obsession with fast fashion so sad in womenswear. I love the idea a father and son can wear the same thing, the whole tradition of handing beautifully made garments down from one generation to the next.”
Founded in 2017, Marmaduke London, like many newer brands, is the result of happy happenstance between Ruby’s vision and initial enthusiasm and appetite for her designs. She designs the print for her ties and the cuff lining of her shirts; having long loved the creative process of sketching out ideas and designs she had a few sample ties run up that proved to be popular, “from those exploratory items, we went from there”.
With her focus on sustainability and long-lasting style, Ruby was determined to use UK workshops to manufacture her garments, “I want to know the companies and the people who make my clothing, I want that relationship to be meaningful” she says, “our makers are London based so not only can I pick up the phone to them, I can pop round the workshop and we can solve issues and refine a design on the spot.”
Ruby uses British wool for the gilets and jackets, and again drawing and painting the designs for the colourful linings herself. “I wanted to create something timeless – a gilet that would look at home in either town or country” she says, “the wool is woven in Yorkshire – I knew I wanted everything to be as 100 per cent as pure and natural as possible.” Nehru collared, Ruby’s range of wool, linen or velvet gilets offer a smart and elegant edge to this useful spring and autumn wardrobe staple; natty enough to wear over a shirt and tie on the more traditional shooting line or with jeans for a laid-back urban brunch.
Her shirts are driven by the same laid back, stylish and timeless ideas. Generously cut for comfort, Ruby again uses her own prints in the collar and insides of the cuffs to give a flash of distinctive colour. She uses horn buttons for her shirts – sourced from Scotland – to give them a different, vintage inspired feel. Ranging from lightweight summer linen to a recently introduced thicker brushed cotton for the colder months, there is a laid-back shirt to suit all seasons and tastes. All the spread collars though have sufficient fusing to be worn with or without a tie in smarter environments meaning the shirt can effortlessly move from casual country lunch to an elegant assignation in the Connought’s Coburg bar.
The latest addition to the Marmaduke London range is the full jacket; based on the gilets, they are also Nehru collared, “I wanted to create a piece with a real heritage feel but having that updated, relevant edge” observes Ruby, “it’s focusing on the details, for example, all the sleeves have full working cuffs.”